“The vice president cannot, with all due respect, handle the truth,” he added.

Joey Salgado, head of the media affairs of the Office of the Vice President, countered that Lacierda failed to answer the issued raised by Binay.

“Until now, Secretary Lacierda has failed to make a decently coherent reply to the issues raised by the Vice President, particularly the lack of jobs despite economic growth,” Salgado said in a statement on Monday.